Islam s



D. A. HART.

v BUCKLE.

. APPLICATION FILED JAN- I2, I92]- lmmm Patented y 16,1922.

DAVID A. HART, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODElSLAND, ASSIGNOR TO RELIANCE FACTURIIIG (10., 0F PROVIDENCE. RHODE ISLAND, A CUPARTIIEBS'HIP COB/119315 ING- DAVID A. I-IART AND DEXTER E. PAR-TELON. i i

BUCKLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pgrtrgntrgd R119 16, 12922,

Application filed January 12, .1921. Serial No. 436,639.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it knownthat 1, DAVID A. HART, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-sin Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates t buckles of the class more particularly adapted for adjustably securing a belt about the body of the wearer, and has for its object to provide simple, practical and effective gripping means for securely retaining belts of differentthicknesses in adjusted position in the body of the buckle.

A further object of'the invention is to provide a belt clamping tongue in the buckle body, having one end free to grip the belt; means being also provided for forcing this tongue to clamp and positively hold the belt against an endways tension.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide a tongue which is pivoted at one end in the buckle body and having its free end extend in a direction against the working pull of the belt to grip the belt and to so shape the tongue that it will engage the belt, at a point intermediate its pivot and gripping end so that when the gripping action of the tongue is-released this intermediate contacting point will serve to auto matically raise the gripping edge out of contact with the belt, which action is due to the inherent straightening tendency of the belt upon being-released.

\Vith theseand other objects in view, the in'vention-consistsof certain novel features of construction, as will be morefully described,andparticularly pointedout in the appended claims.

in the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation illustrating my improved buckle with the beltgripping mechanism mounted therein and in gripping engagement with a belt.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the urn der side of the buckle body with the gripping mechanism removed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the belt gripping tongue.

Figure 4: is a perspective view of the working face of the cam member which is adapted to press the gripping member into engagement with the belt.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation illustrating another form of cam-lever in which one end of the belt is adapted to be secured by a' clamp, the belt being shown in dotted lines.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates the front plate of a buckle body, which is provided with rearwardly extending side walls 11. At one end of the body these side walls are provided with inturned belt-guiding lips 12 while the other end of each of these side walls is pierced as at 18 to pivotally mount a cam member and at 14: to pivotally mount a clamp tongue, both presently described.

. The clamp tongue 15 is preferably formed of sheet stock having laterally-extending pintles 16 formed integral with one end thereof, which pintles engage the eyes 14- in the side walls, the opposite end 17 of the tongue being turned inwardly providing a gripping edge whiclrwill, with sufiicient pressure, bite into the rear surface of the belt portion 18, sufficiently to positively pre vent an endways movement of the belt under its normal working strain.

The tongue is preferably of an ogee shape that is, it is provided with an inwardly rounding portion 19 adapted to contact with the belt at a point intermediate its gripping edge and its pivot point, which contacting portion serves to lift the biting edge 17 from the belt as soon as the gripping pressure is relieved. This releasing action being automatically effected by the natural tendency of that portionof the belt within the buckle body to straighten out from its working curved posit-ion when the tension is removed. 1

- In order to provide simple and effective meansfor pressing the gripping edge of this tongue into binding engagement. with the belt, I have formed somewhat of cam shaped portion 20 on the lever 21, the same being mounted on trunnions 22 in thepivot eyes 13 in the side walls. I have also shown the lever arm 21 as being integral with the cam portion 20 and I have also shown this lever arm in Figures 1 and 4 as provided with an opening 2-3 through which the belt end 24 is passed and secured by snaps in the usual way, but I do not wish to be restricted to this particular construction or type of lever arm, as the same may be formed as illustrated in Figure 5, with side ears 25 in which a clamp lever 26 is pivot-. ally mounted to engage the belt end 27 (shown in dotted lines) to clamp it in position against the face of the arm.

By the use of my improved gripping tongue which is pressed by means of the cam into engagement with the belt, a more effective retaining action on the belt is provided than where the cam engages the belt direct, which is due to the following reasons;

first, because the biting edge of the clamp is comparatively sharp, while that of the cam is more or less rounding; and second, the an gle ofengagement of the gripping edge of the tongue is on an incline slanting in a di rection opposite to the working pull on the belt.

It will be noted that by the use of my clamping tongue all of the pull. on the belt portion 18 is received on the tongue pivots, the cam acting simply as a forcing member for pressing the tongue against the belt. The pull exerted by the opposite end 2a of thebelt upon the cam lever serving to hold the cam in working contact with the biting tongue.

My improved clamping tongue, due to its long swinging action, will act with equal effectiveness upon very thin, as well as very thick belts to positively hold the same against slipping in the body of the buckle.

By my improved construction the tongue is made of a plate which has a flexibility to yield sufficiently to the forcing action of a cam so as to permit the cam lever portion to draw in line with the opposite end 24 of the belt when under tension regardless of the thickness of the belt engaged.

My improved belt is practical and inexpensive in construction and effective in its operation.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical chenges to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A belt buckle comprising a body portion, a resilient clamping tongue 'mounted on the body and extending in an irregular curved line, one end of said tongue forming a gripping edge, and an operable cam engageable with sald tongue to force the tongue and gripping edge into engagement with said belt, the irregular portions of said tongue causing the gripping edge to be released from said belt when said cam is operated to release its pressure on the tongue.

2. A buckle comprising a body portion, a

clamping tongue pivotally mounted on the body and having an end thereof forming a biting edge, said tongue extending in. an irregular line between said pivot and said edge, producing alternate belt-engaging portions on the tongue, and a cam operable to engage said tongue between said gripping edge and belt-engaging portions for moving the same into engagement with the belt and producing a tension in said tongue, said tension acting to release said gripping edge from the belt upon the release of the cam.

8. A buckle comprising a body member, a clamping tongue of substantially ogee formation having one end portion pivotally mounted on the body member, the distal end of said tongue being adapted to grip a portion of said belt to secure it to said body memher, a lever arm pivotally mounted on said body member and having a cam surface on its pivoted end to engage said tongue for moving it in clamping relation with respect to said body member, whereby the belt is held on the latter.

4:. A buckle comprising a body member, a clamping tongue of substantially ogee formation having one end portion pivotally mounted on the body member to grip a por tion of a belt on the body member, the distal end of said tongue being extended in a direction opposite to the normal strain on said portion of the belt and adapted to grip the latter, a lever arm pivotally mounted on said body member and adapted to have the other end portion of said belt connected thereto, and a cam surface on the pivoted end of said lever arm to engage said tongue and move the latter in cooperative clamping relation with said body member, when strain is brought upon said last mentioned end of the belt when in normal position on the wearer.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

DAVID A. HART. 

